1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to the reorganization of database objects while maintaining the availability of those objects to applications or users, and in particular to preventing data modification operations to an object within a database during one or more structural changes to the object.
2. Description of the Related Art
A database is generally a collection of information organized such that computer programs can quickly access desired portions of the information. The information is typically referred to as data and the computer program enabling a user to enter, modify, delete, or otherwise organize select data in the database, is often called a database management system (DBMS). Generally, DBMSs govern the internal organization of data. For example, the terms “relational,” “network,” “flat,” “hierarchical,” and the like, all refer to ways differing DBMSs organize data. Often, these different internal structures affect how quickly and flexibly data can be extracted from a database. The foregoing notwithstanding, DBMSs, such as those offered from Oracle Corporation or IBM, generally provide that the data of a database is stored in objects, such as tables or indices.
With the advent of highly sophisticated DBMSs, users are demanding virtually non-interrupted access from virtually anywhere to applications and data. Moreover, users are demanding that accesses occur at peak or near peak performance levels. However, as users or applications, hereinafter referred to as “clients,” continually modify the data stored in a particular database, the performance of that database is often adversely affected. For example, as objects of a database grow and shrink in size, the database becomes fragmented, resulting in the database having a large footprint with excessive free space. Moreover, the changing objects may generate chained rows, resulting in a need for multiple disk accesses to acquire desired data. Thus, fragmentation and chaining generally increase data access times and decrease database performance. In order to maintain the accessibility and performance of a particular database, administrators often need to reorganize the objects of the database while maintaining access to the data within those objects.
Several reorganization solutions are available which provide for reorganization with minimal maintenance downtime. Generally, these reorganization solutions accomplish the foregoing by creating a copy of one or more objects of a database, such as a table or an index. During the copying process, the reorganization solution reads data from the original object and inserts that data into a reorganized object while providing some type of access to the original object. Thus, once all the data from the original object is inserted into the reorganized object, the reorganization of the original object is complete. Thereafter, changes to the original object that occurred during the copying process are applied to the reorganized object until both objects are in synchronization. Once the objects are in synchronization, the original object is archived and the reorganized object is renamed, or otherwise designated as, the original object.
The foregoing reorganization solution suffers from a variety of drawbacks. For example, DBMSs generally do not allow for the explicit scheduling of operations from, for example, the foregoing reorganization solution and various other clients attempting to access the original object. In order to determine a point of synchronization between the original object and the reorganized object during interrupting client access attempts, the foregoing reorganization solution typically bars or quiesces all client access to the objects during some or all of the reorganization process. In addition, DBMSs generally classify object-renaming operations and the application of relational constraints to objects as structural operations on those objects. In order to perform a series of structural operations, for example, renaming the reorganized object and applying relational constraints thereto, the reorganization solution often bars or quiesces all client access to the objects during such structural operations. Accordingly, the foregoing reorganization solutions do not maintain client access to objects undergoing reorganization. Therefore, a need exists for a mechanism that allows for synchronization between objects and that prevents select interrupting data modification operations to an object without sacrificing client access to the object.
Some DBMSs provide locking mechanisms for preventing destructive interaction between transactions accessing the same resource. For example, a bank account table in a database may include an entry for the current balance. When two transactions are attempting to update the same entry, they first each attempt to obtain a lock against the entry. The first transaction to obtain a lock on the entry usually prevents the second from doing the same. Thus, the first transaction will generally complete, or be rolled back, before releasing the lock. The release of the lock allows the second transaction to obtain the lock and proceed with its update.
Without the foregoing locking mechanisms, the two transactions may destructively interact. For example, the first and second transactions may obtain the same current balance, and the second transaction may first perform its update thereto. Then, if the first transaction fails for one of a number of common reasons, the first transaction rolls the current balance back to it pre-first transaction value. Thus, without the foregoing locking mechanisms, the update from the second transaction would be effectively lost.
The foregoing locking mechanisms are generally grouped into at least two types, data manipulation language (DML) locks and data definition language (DDL) locks. DML operations generally modify data within an object; for example, a DML operation may modify the foregoing current balance within a particular row of a bank account table. Examples of DML operations from the widely accepted structured query language (SQL) include “insert,” “update,” and “delete.” DDL operations generally modify the structure of an object; for example, a DDL operation may change the name of an object or add a column to the same. DML locks can generally be explicitly acquired by a transaction, while DDL locks generally cannot. Moreover, when a particular transaction has already acquired either type of lock on a particular resource, another transaction will have to wait until that lock is released before obtaining any other DML or DDL locks.
Although the foregoing locks provide a mechanism to quiesce activity against the object, use of the foregoing locks is limited. For example, when multiple clients send multiple transactions to a database object, many DBMSs do not allow for explicit scheduling of operations from any one client. Thus, multiple DML or DDL operations from a reorganization solution may have many interrupting and destructive operations from other clients. In addition, some DBMSs do not allow for explicit requests for a DDL lock, resulting in difficulty performing a series of DDL operations. For example, without the ability for an explicit reservation of a DDL lock by a transaction, a DML operation from another client may be scheduled between a series of DDL operations from the reorganization solution. That interrupting DML operation may throw off a synchronization attempt. Moreover, although DML locks typically may be explicitly reserved, they also are released before any DDL operations are allowed on the object. Thus, explicit DML locks also do not provide for a mechanism for ensuring a series of DDL operations will be performed on a object without one or more interrupting and destructive DML operations.
DBMSs also provide mechanisms for ensuring relational constraints are maintained. A relational constraint occurs when two or more tables within a database have data related to one another. For example, a first table may contain information related to purchase orders, such as, a purchase order number, a purchaser name and address, and the like. A second table may contain specific purchase items for each purchase order number. A relational constraint between the two tables may require that before purchase items can be entered into the second table, the purchase order number and purchaser information must be entered into the first table.
One mechanism for applying the foregoing relational constraint is a trigger procedure. Generally, trigger procedures are applied to an object such that upon the occurrence of one or more SQL statements, particular actions are taken. For example, a trigger procedure applied to the second table may execute, or fire, when an “insert” operation is requested against the second table. The trigger procedure may check the first table to ensure that purchase order and purchaser information exits, and when it does not, the trigger procedure may take actions to insert such information in the first table. Thereafter, the original “insert” operation on the second table completes. Accordingly, the foregoing trigger procedures generally forestall operations against a particular table in order to properly relate data in one table to data in another. Thus, trigger procedures are typically not applied to prevent data modification operations during one or more structural changes to an object.